Friday, December 28, 2018

The two series we discuss this week may be short-lived, but we have a nice long YouTube playlist for you. Click below to enjoy: Mel Brooks for Bic Pens! Richard Dawson plays Brett Somers while Fanny Flagg plays Charles Nelson Reilly! Joel Higgins for Farm Aid! All this plus commercials. promos. and the steely game show nerves of Henry Polic II!

*Thanks again to listener and friend of the show Ian for making this episode possible!

*This week we discuss When Things Were Rotten's seventh episode, Ding Dong, the Bell Is Gone, which premiered on ABC October 22, 1975 at 8:00 P.M. against, as we say on the show, Game 7 of the 1975 World Series between the Reds and the Red Sox on NBC (seen by over 51 million viewers) and Tony Orlando & Dawn on CBS.

*We also discuss Best of the West's fourth episode, The Calico Kid Returns, which also aired on ABC. This episode premiered October 1, 1981 at 8:30 against Magnum P.I. (a repeat of the Digger Doyle episode we talked about here) and The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island.

*HA! and The Comedy Channel launched April 1, 1990 and November 15, 1989, respectively. Viacom and HBO joined forces and merged the channels April 1, 1991 with CTV: The Comedy Network, and then in June, the channel was rebranded as Comedy Central.

HA!'s launch lineup included classics like The Phil Silvers Show and Car 54 along with short-lived sitcoms like When Things Were Rotten and Camp Runamuck.

*Dick Van Patten also starred in Mel Brooks 1993 feature film Robin Hood: Men in Tights.

*Misty Rowe (Maid Marian) was also on early Happy Days as carhop Wendy, was one of the Hee Haw Honeys, and created a children's show called Misty's Magical Mountaintop.

*The Who's on First routine was a staple of burlesque, but Abbott and Costello immortalized it. They first performed it for a national audience on The Kate Smith Radio Hour in 1938.

*Former singing cowboy and Frontier Doctor star Rex Allen sings the memorable Best of the West theme song written by show creator Earl Pomerantz.

Pomerantz, an accomplished sitcom writer before Best of the West, went on to write for The Cosby Show and develop Major Dad (1989-1993). For more on the series and why it didn't last, check out this series of posts on Pomerantz's excellent blog.

*Leonard Frey was in the original The Boys in the Band stage production and was in the film adaptation. He earned an Oscar nomination for Fiddler on the Roof.

*Valri Bromfield was a regular on Lorne Michaels' unsuccessful prime time effort The New Show. Check out this week's YouTube playlist for a few sketches!

*Be sure and let us know if you would like us to revisit more forgotten sitcoms or lesser-known shows from other genres!

Thursday, December 27, 2018

This week, we take a look at two forgotten sitcoms, the Mel Brooks Robin Hood spoof “When Things Were Rotten” and early eighties oater “Best of the West.” Along the way, we meet some old friends, encounter another take on Who’s on First, and get into a heated exchange about “Alias.”

Tuesday, December 25, 2018

Merry Christmas to all of our listeners! Today let's return to that vintage TV Guide we've been mining this week for a look at a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie that premiered on Sunday, December 17, 1978. It features one of the greatest names in Christmas movie history:

Sunday, December 23, 2018

Yesterday we took a look at what was on the tube 40 years ago, to the very day, courtesy of the December 16-22, 1978 St. Louis edition of TV Guide. It's no longer to the day, but it's still 40 years later, and that's a neat round number, so let's examine the sports, late night shows, and other options on that day.

(By the way, if you're wondering, A Charlie Brown Christmas had aired on Monday that week.)

Elsewhere on the dial, Navy took on BYU in the 1978 Holiday Bowl. Remember that back in the pre-ESPN days, and even later, many bowl games were syndicated across the country.

The Kansas City (!) Kings played the Phoenix Suns in NBA action on another independent station.

On PBS, Dick Cavett welcomed William Safire before staples Wall Street Week and Washington Week in Review and a special titled Wild Horses, Broken Wings.

Later that evening on NBC, The Midnight Special, hosted by Dolly Parton, featured Paul McCartney and Wings, Frankie Valli singing Grease, and Chuck Mangione performing...what else? Feels So Good!

Preceding it at 11 (remember, this was when the show was 90 minutes) on The Tonight Show, Johnny's guests were Bert Convy and Marilyn Horne. ABC went with a Baretta rerun, while the CBS Late Movie was Quo Vadis.

Speaking of movies, here's a sampling of the movies shown on various local stations on December 22, 1978:
*The Trouble with Angels (1966) at Noon central
*Savage Wilderness (1955) with Victor Mature and Anne Bancroft
*Uncertain Glory (1944) with Errol Flynn at 3:00 P.M.
*Nothing But a Man (1964) with Ivan Dixon at 10:30
*Moby Dick with Greg Peck at 11.

It's also cool checking out some of the cartoons on during the morning: Popeye, Bugs Bunny,Heckle and Jeckle, The Flintstones, Tom and Jerry, Mighty Mouse...all the classics! Of course that's in addition to kiddie staples like Romper Room, Sesame Street, and Captain Kangaroo.

What do you think about TV in 1978? Better? Worse? Bert Convier? Well, clearly the last one is true.

Saturday, December 22, 2018

Let's go back in the BOTNS time machine and take a look at what was going on 40 years ago today on December 22, 1978! Our guide for this journey is THE guide--a vintage TV Guide covering 12/16/78-12/22/78 and featuring the Bradfords on the cover (Don't worry, folks, they will return later).

This day happened to be a Friday, but because it's Christmas season, we get plenty of yuletide specials to accompany standard end-of-the-workweek programming.

You get your game shows in the morning. For example, Hollywood Squares had the Lennon Sisters along with stalwarts like Paul Lynde, George Gobel, and Rose Marie. Match Game featured Fannie Flagg and Carol Jones. The Gong Show was more of an evening show, and among its judges today was Steve Martin.

In the afternoon, Mike Douglas' co-host that week was Carroll O'Connor, and wouldn't you know, they just happened to invite Danielle Brisebois on this day's episode. Also on the show: George Carlin and Mac Davis! Now, that sounds like a blockbuster.

Let's start with the prime-time lineup, and let's go right to two joyous Christmas specials on ABC! (Note that times are central because this is a St. Louis edition of the mag)

In a parallel reality, John Davidson was Mr. Christmas and had a TV special every year up until the early nineties instead of "only" in 1977 and 1978. This particular special co-starred Harvey Korman AND Linda Lavin (poor Beth Howland is relegated to daytime duty). The Guide description also mentions a ballet rendition of the Nativity and "a disco spoof of Saturday Night Favor/" It doesn't get more festive than that!

The description of Eight Is Enough is deceptive. The "two-hour movie" is a repeat of a two-parter from the previous season of the show, with Will Geer (recently in our Waltons episode) as a thief who makes off with the family's presents and wheels. Also in the guest cast are Judy Strangis and Nicholas "Spider-Man" Hammond! Below is an ad for a syndicated rerun:

Not to be outdone, NBC led off the night with a Bob Hope special presented by Texaco.

Among Bob's guests: Andy Gibb, Dionne Warwick, and the AP All-America college football team.

Note that the special was "still in production as of press time," which surely means Bob's monologue was ultra-topical.

NBC followed Bob with a Rockford Files repeat and an episode of the short-lived Eddie Capra Mysteries.
CBS shunned Christmas programming in favor of its regular lineup: Wonder Woman (in which she takes on...a leprechaun?), The Incredible Hulk (with two-time BOTNS star William Lucking!), and Flying High, the sexy stewardess show with Connie Sellecca that only lasted--you know, I totally would have watched that.

Come back tomorrow for a look at PBS, sports, and late-night options from 40 years ago!

Friday, December 21, 2018

This week, enjoy a special sleuthtastic playlist devoted to the Hardys and Nancy Drew! Click below to see Goldie Hawn duet with Shaun Cassidy! Count Chocula! Paul Williams' finest TV moment! All this and promos, commercials, music (including Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da, natch), and more!

*The special investigators known as our crack research team tracked down the book Mike's elementary school class read.

He still doesn't know how it ends, though.

*The Stratemeyer Syndicate was the company that controlled the rights to the young detectives. Previous efforts to put the boys on TV included several stints on The Mickey Mouse Club, a failed pilot in 1967 with Tim Matheson, and Filmation's Saturday morning cartoon on ABC 1969-1971. There was also a 1990s series from the same people who produced the Nancy Drew series around that time. Click here for more info.

*Nancy Drew has been less prolific on TV, but there was a failed pilot produced by Desilu in 1957. The CW is currently working on a version.

*Regarding the Hardy's ages: Wikipedia reports Frank is 18 and Joe 17, though previous incarnations of the characters in all media had them younger. The Hardys are clearly much younger in The Mickey Mouse Club serials. Similarly, Nancy Drew was originally 16, then aged up to be 18 and post-high school.

At the time of the series' premiere in January 1977, Parker Stevenson (Frank) was 24, Shaun Cassidy (Joe) was 18, and Pamela Sue Martin (Nancy) was 24.

Cassidy is the son of Jack Cassidy and Shirley Jones and the half-brother of David Cassidy.

*Martin also left Dynasty early, abandoning her character of Fallon after 3 seasons. Emma Samms replaced her.

*We (and by we I mean me; I deserve the blame since I started the topic) totally ignored tons of other Draculas in pop culture, including the Hammer films and comic books like Tomb of Dracula. The rights to the Lugosi version are with Universal, but Bram Stoker's creation is in public domain...hence, for example, Bram Stoker's Dracula from Francis Ford Coppola. Love at First Bite is an American International production that features George Hamilton as Count Dracula.

*The Disney movie aired on September 11 against the premiere of this episode is the 1973 TV flick The Mystery of Dracula's Castle with Clu Gulager, Johnny Whitaker, and Mariette Hartley.
*Lorne Green plays Inspector Hans Stavlin in this episode.

*It's about 520 miles from Paris to Munich.

*Here is the lineup of songs performed by Paul Williams as Allistair Troy:
-The Hell of It from the 1974 cult movie Phantom of the Paradise
-You and Me Against the World
-The Family of Man*The series' lone Emmy nomination was in 1977 for Enzo Martinelli, but not in the regular cinematography category. Instead, it was in the category of...AHEM...Special Classification of Outstanding Individual Achievement, where two different awards were bestowed for The Big Event's production of The First 50 Years, a celebration of NBC's history,

*Wikipedia says this about Interpol's ability to make arrests: Contrary to frequent portrayals in popular culture, Interpol is not a supranational law enforcement agency and has no agents who are allowed to make arrests

Thursday, December 20, 2018

Long before cinematic shared universes were a thing, the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, shared rotating weeks of "The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries," and met each other on screen in a series of crossovers. They also met Dracula! Or maybe someone pretending to be Dracula! Suspects include Paul Williams, Lorne Green, and the mayor of Transylvania.

Sunday, December 16, 2018

On Tuesday, December 16, 1975, the NormanLearverse was expanded yet again as One Day at a Time debuted on CBS:

Despite running for 9 seasons and over 200 episodes, the show has a relatively low profile today. It has been on Antenna TV in recent years, but I thought the Netflix remake would give it a higher profile.

This premiere episode was part of a CBS lineup that featured Good Times at 8, Joe and Sons at 8:30, MASH at 9, and ODAT before an episode of Switch. Joe and Sons lasted only 14 episodes. From Douglas Cramer's company, it starred Richard Castellano as a widower. Also in the cast: Jimmy Baio and Jerry Stiller.

Also on that night, Johnny Carson welcomed Shecky Greene, Ted Knight, and Ethel Merman to The Tonight Show!

Saturday, December 15, 2018

The former Miami Dolphins Hall of Fame linebacker turns 78 today. He was a big part of the sports on TV landscape in the 1980s, co-hosting Inside the NFL on HBO with fellow great Len Dawson. Back in the day before NFL Network, 5-hour pregame shows, etc., Inside the NFL was a really big deal.

And like every notable athlete of the day, Nick did his share of shilling for Miller Lite!

*The House That George Built, season 8, episode 8, premiered November 29, 1981 at 9:30 P.M. following Alice. On ABC that night: Sizzle, a TV movie with Loni Anderson and John Forsythe, while NBC aired a new TV version of Of Mice and Men starring Robert Blake and Randy Quaid.

*Murder She Wrote aired on CBS 1984-1996.

*Norman Lear and All in the Family had to wait for Sherman Helmsley because the actor was in Purlie on Broadway.

*Paul Benedict, who played the veddy English neighbor Bentley, was born in New Mexico and actually served in the Marines.

*The crack research team has been unable to find evidence of Ned Wertimer (Ralph the doorman) starring in a PSA about racial discrimination in housing. Please let us know if you can track down this ad!

*Zara Cully played Mother Jefferson on the show until her death at age 86 in 1978.

*Peter Lawford, British actor and personality, was of course related to the Kennedys by marriage and was one of the Rat Pack.

*Ja'net Dubois not only sings "Movin' on Up," but she gets a writing credit for it along with Hall of Fame songwriter Jeff Barry.

*The short-lived medical comedy E/R (Elliot Gould and George Clooney, awesome theme song performance by Lou Rawls) was technically a Jeffersons spinoff because George and Louise's niece was one of the nurses.

Tuesday, December 11, 2018

On Thursday, December 11, 1980, CBS premiered the original Magnum P.I.

The two-part Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii was up against Games People Play (with Greg Evigan as one of the guest stars!) on NBC. The short-lived reality program focused on unusual sports was intended as actors-strike-friendly programming.

ABC's comedy lineup consisted of Mork and Mindy, Bosom Buddies, Barney Miller, and It's a Living.
At 10:00, it was Knots Landing on CBS and Number 96 in NBC. The latter lasted even less time than Games; it was a tamer version on a very popular Australian prime-time soap. It ran Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of this week as a launch stunt.

If you weren't interested in the soaps, you could turn on ABC and see 20/20 with Geraldo Rivera ripping the lid off of heroin trafficking. According to the description on Ultimate 70s, Posing as a buyer of heroin in Afghanistan, he traces the drug from its source, through western Europe, to the streets of America.

Monday, December 10, 2018

One of the most interesting clips from our YouTube playlist for our Hill Street Blues episode is this one featuring notorious "prankster" Barry Bremen and Emmy winner Betty Thomas:

Known as "The Great Imposter," Bremen faked his way into some high-profile entertainment events, like the Super Bowl, but this might be his biggest achievement. According to Wikipedia, he was arrested and fined for this stunt but later apologized to Thomas and told her he thought she really wasn't there to accept. Hmm...

There is an ESPN 30 for 30 short about Bremen, a pop culture fixture in the 1980s. As Bremen once said before his death in 2011, this kind of thing was a lot funnier--and easier--before 9/11.

All that being said, maybe the best thing about the clip is how focused The Hoff is at 1:15.

Friday, December 7, 2018

After checking out our exploration of the seminal 1980s cop show, check out this episode's official YouTube playlist! Click below for Michael Conrad winning an Emmy! Beverly Hills Buntz! Bruce Weitz teams up with Nancy Walker! Daniel J. Travanti visits the Loudons! All that and more promos, PSAs, and cool stuff!

And remember, you can always head to our official YouTube page for series-specific video lists that accompany each of our shows!

*Spotlight on Rico, season 3, episode 20 of the series, premiered April 28. 1983, at 10:00 P.M. on NBC. We think it aired against Tucker's Witch (CBS) and 20/20 (ABC). Also on NBC's Thursday night lineup at this time: Fame, Cheers, and Gimme a Break!

*Hill Street Blues ran 7 seasons, 146 episodes, 1981-1987, and was a modest rating success in its prime years after a disastrous premiere season. It did dominate the Emmys after its inaugural year, though, which helped NBC keep it around, along with info indicating upscale advertisers were interested.

*Beverly Hills Buntz, the spinoff with Dennis Franz, lasted one season (1987-88) and 9 episodes (4 more were produced).

*Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh was the college show creator Steven Bochco and several cast members attended.

*Guest star Jonathan Banks is in his mid-30s in this episode. He had already in movies like Airplane! and series like Little House on the Prairie, Barnaby Jones, and 3 episodes (as 3 different characters) of Lou Grant.

*Michael Conrad was only 58 when he died of cancer. Before Hill Street, among his many credits was The Longest Yard. He was also a regular on the Judd Hirsch cop show Delvecchio, which Bocho wrote for and which also starred Hill Street co-stars Charles Haid and James B. Sikking.

*"Sonny Crockett" in this one is Dennis Burkley, who co-starred in the 1980 Sanford on NBC.

*Orson Welles' talk show pilot was filmed in 1978 and, according to Wikipedia, never surfaced. It was a 90-mintue show with Burt Reynolds, Angie Dickinson, and The Muppets. Welles himself directed, and it was shot single camera! It's too long for our official playlist, but the pilot is on YouTube!

Thursday, December 6, 2018

This week, we delve into the gritty, chaotic, groundbreaking Hill Street Blues. We hit all the important topics: the large cast of character actors, the serialized storytelling, the classic theme song, and the mustaches. Guest stars include Dennis Franz, Jonathan Banks, a robot, and Sonny Crockett?!

Monday, December 3, 2018

As we near the end of season 5, we'd once again like our listeners to help us choose a couple of the shows we'll discuss. In part 1, we asked which "Rural" show y'all'd like us to pontificate on and ended up choosing Hee Haw.

This time, we'd like you to choose between one of three "Sketch Comedy/Variety Shows." Let us know in the comments for this post by 11:59 P.M. Eastern time Monday December 10, at our Facebook Page, Facebook Group, or through e-mail. Choices below:

We salute Ken Berry, who died this weekend at 85. His breakthrough hits, F Troop and Mayberry R.F.D., may be a little before our time period, but he was a fixture of 1970s and 1980s TV nonetheless. Remember when you were sitting down to watch a rerun of The Brady Bunch and that weird episode with the new family popped up? That Kelly's Kids episode was maybe the first "backdoor pilot" I ever saw, way before I understood the concept.

He was the lead in Mama's Family, but I remember him more for just...turning up everywhere. The Cat from Outer Space seemed to be on cable TV all the time.

Plus there were the Kinney shoe ads:

Plus he was one of those guys who always turned up on the shows that kept TV going in those days--the daytime talk shows, the game shows, the "these shows are more TV than anything else" shows like The Love Boat and Fantasy Island.

R.I.P. to one of the more versatile performers of the era, a reliable actor whose amiable screen persona always brightened up my TV set...even if I never did understand each time The Brady Bunch was hijacked by that Kellys Kids episode.

Friday, November 30, 2018

That's right! You can click on the video below for more CB radio, more Greg Evigan, and folks who didn't make it into the episode we covered, like Lobo and Judy Landers! Ed Lauter for Bayer aspirin! All this and more!

*B.J. premiered February 1979, and spinoff Lobo debuted September 1979. Both had shortened third seasons and were axed after the 1980-1981 TV year.

*The Universal vault fire we mention on the podcast has not been covered in detail; we see a lot of speculation but not so much facts. Consensus seems to be that the studio's music archives were hit harder (as far as irreplaceable losses) than the film/TV side.

*Citizens Band radio was invented in 1945 but took off as a fad in the 1970s. Rising gas prices and a federal speed limit of 55 made CB radio useful for truckers to plan routes and such. People started ignoring licensing requirements (that were eventually just eliminated), and soon all kinds of people were messing around with CB.

*Wisconsin football was very successful in the 1950s but mediocre when B.J. and the Bear premiered.

*In this 1981 Christian Science Monitor piece, Fred Silverman says: In the case of 'BJ and the Bear,' the time came to end it, since it had been on the air for 2 1/2 years and it never really made it. There is a moment in time when you say, 'Let's take it off and try something else. However, he didn't get try too much else, as Brandon Tartikoff replaced him the next season.

*This April 1981 New York Times article talks about NBC's struggles but does say that:''Facts of Life'' and ''B.J. and the Bear'' have evolved from marginal shows last season to modestly successful series.

Thursday, November 29, 2018

Trucker B.J. McKay and his best pal Bear, a chimp, face off with Sheriff Cain and his supercar...designed and built by one Erin Gray. We dig deep into this one, speculate on its role as the possible secret origin of Knight Rider, and pitch our own trucker show Truckstop Lawyer.

The Mississippi ran 1982-1984 for a total of 27 episodes. As you can tell from this sequence, Waite is a criminal attorney who gives it all up (sort of) to buy a boat. The thing is, he keeps running into people who need a good lawyer as he makes his way up and down the mighty Mississip.

*We hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving free of family drama, pageant-related jealousies, and getting conked on the head.

*The Thanksgiving Story premiered November 15, 1973, at 8:00 P.M. on CBS. On Thanksgiving of that year, a week later, CBS aired a rerun of the show, followed by the 1966 movie Duel at Diablo. ABC aired college football (Alabama at LSU) followed by a Charlie Chaplin documentary, and NBC went with the 1964 My Fair Lady.

*The Waltons aired 9 seasons, 1972-1981 and was a solid ratings earner in its early years, peaking at #8 one season.

*The Flip Wilson Show aired on NBC 1970-1974 and was a huge hit, but it crashed pretty quickly, not entirely due to The Waltons. It was an hourlong variety show that is mostly seen today in cut-down 30-minute versions.

*Toma aired 1 season (1973) on ABC. The series was based on a real-life New Jersey cop. The behind-the-scenes story of this show sounds better than the show itself (which, despite what Wikipedia says, I remember being aired in reruns on WOR briefly). Maybe someday we'll do a Toma episode!

*Hamner's Apple's Way lasted just two seasons (1974-1975) and 28 episodes on CBS at 7:30 on Sundays.

*As we mention on the podcast, we recommend All About the Waltons for much, much more info on the series, the performers, and everything else related to The Waltons.

*Thanksgiving has been celebrated for centuries (exact origins are uncertain), but two significant developments occurred in The Waltons era: FDR and Congress set the holiday in the USA as the next-to-last Thursday of November in 1939 and the fourth Thursday in November in 1941.

*Jenny Pendleton (Sian Barbara Allan) only appeared in two episodes, none after this one. She and Richard Thomas were an off-screen couple for a while.

*Richard Thomas and John Ritter do indeed both appear in the 1990 It adaptation. Thomas' Battle Beyond the Stars (1980), yet another movie partly inspired by Seven Samurai, was Roger Corman's then-biggest-budget feature ever. The apparent attempt to cash in on the Star Wars craze featured a screenplay by John Sayles and special effects spearheaded by James Cameron.

*Speaking of Thomas, he left the series after the seventh season and was replaced by Robert Wightman but came back for the reunion movies. If you want to see how the series handles the transition of John Boys, see Season 8, episode 9, The Waiting.

Thursday, November 22, 2018

After your Thanksgiving feast, gather round the radio for a BOTNS-style Thanksgiving with The Waltons. This one has everything you'd want from Thanksgiving: family, turkey hunting, romance, moonshine, a pageant, test taking, and a major head injury. Plus, we speculate on the comics in John-Boy's self-published regional newspaper.

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

One of the curios from this week's Charlie's Angels playlist is this clip from the week Kate Jackson and then-hubby Andrew Stevens co-hosted The Mike Douglas Show. In this clip, you see them singing and in old-age makeup:

Sunday, November 18, 2018

NBC had a smash hit with its two-night adaptation of Joe McGinniss' book Fatal Vision, which was based on the case of Jeffrey MacDonald and the murder of his family. MacDonald believed the book would exonerate him and cooperated with MacDonald, but the author became convinced he was guilty.

The miniseries features a stellar cast headlined by the great Gary Cole as MacDonald along with Eva Marie Saint, Andy Griffith, Barry Newman, and Karl Malden (who won an Emmy). Part one was the number-one-rated program on TV the week it debuted.

Saturday, November 17, 2018

One of the best heels in TV history, Louie DePalma, is iconic because of the great work by Danny DeVito. Check out our look at Taxi right here, and enjoy him below in this ad for Little--Wait. I'm being told this is not Danny DeVito, but Rich Little impersonating him (and a certain film icon) in this Little Debbie's ad:

Friday, November 16, 2018

*The series lasted 5 seasons and 115 episodes, ending June 1981. Jaclyn Smith was the only angel who lasted all 5 seasons, and the "classic trio" only lasted the first season. In season 2, Cheryl Ladd replaced Farrah Fawcett, Shelley Hack replaced Kate Jackson in season 4, and Tanya Roberts replaced Hack in season 5. Fawcett had a recurring role in seasons 3 and 4.

David Doyle, whether he is an angel or not (we try to determine this on the pod), lasted all 5 seasons.

*Wikipedia reports that among the actresses considered to replace Jackson were Michelle Pfeiffer, Barbara Bach, and Connie Sellecca, and Shari Belafonte.

Folks, you gotta check this one out to see the Charlie's Angels Mego dolls! Farrah and Joe Namath! Jaclyn plays Jackie O! The Tonight Show...with David Brenner! Plus promos, clips, and Alan Fudge vs. David Carradine!

Thursday, November 15, 2018

In a perfect BOTNS-era plot, Charlie's Angels (original class) go undercover at "men's" magazine "Feline" to stop a murderer from killing more centerfolds. Jill (Farrah Fawcett) might even have to become a centerfold! Guest stars include BATTY award winner Hugh O'Brian and the great Alan Fudge!

Friday, November 9, 2018

If you haven't had enough of Kornfield Kounty, click below for this episode's official playlist, filled with music, comedy, and more! Enjoy: Foster Brooks pickin' and (hic) grinnin'! Johnny Cash for the United Way! Minnie Pearl teams up with Liberace! All that and plenty of ads, promos, and tunes!

And remember you can always head to our official YouTube page for episode-specific playlists for all of our shows!

*Hee Haw airs on RFD-TV several times a week, but it looks as though they licensed a limited number of episodes. If you are looking for a particular one or are interested in the really old shows, let's just say it isn't hard to find some online.

*The infamous "rural purge" may be a bit exaggerated, but CBS did cancel some well-rated programs, reportedly at the urging of Fred Silverman, to shift the network demographics. However, The Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres were aging series that had fallen in the ratings. Also, Ed Sullivan, Jackie Gleason, and Red Skelton were canceled, too, because of older audiences, not rural ones. This could be a subject for an entire show!

Hee Haw was definitely a hit, though, before it was a casualty. Interestingly, right on the heels of this so-called purge was a show as rural as it comes: The Waltons, which stayed on CBS for years.

*TV Turkeys is out of print but available from resellers!

*Besides Hee Haw, there was Buck Owens' Ranch Show in syndication from 1966-1972.

*George Lindsey got plenty of mileage from the Goober character but apparently no legal flak despite essentially playing the same character he did in The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry RFD. We are unable to find evidence of a legal battle in which Lindsey claimed he was playing himself and therefore had rights to the "character."

*If you want to read more about the horrible death of David "Stringbean" Akeman, click here. Brace yourself first. We don't blame you if you got all you needed to know from the podcast.

*The Newsradio show Mike and special guest (and Friend of the Show) Dann discuss is Season 3, Episode 15, Rose Bowl, available on DVD.

Thursday, November 8, 2018

Our listeners voted again, and we listened. Pick and grin with us as we discuss two episodes of country variety classic "Hee Haw," featuring Freddy Fender, Melba Montgomery, Johnny Cash, and La Costa. Crank up the laugh track, let the banjo licks fly, and don't let the fence hit you on the way out. Plus, we hear an extra-special "Hee Haw" story from one our listeners.

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

The Brady Bunch is not yet part of the BOTNS universe, but how can we pass up the chance to salute the great Christopher Knight on his birthday?

Below, enjoy my favorite Peter Brady moment. I mean, what is he even thinking, the way he hurls the basketball--where IS he hurling it? Don't play ball in the house? How about, don't throw basketballs around like a moron without knowing where you are aiming them?

Tuesday, November 6, 2018

If you don't have the DVD of Dr. Strange (1978) or even if you do but can't get enough of the good doc and the metaphysical Marvels of the TV movie we covered in our latest episode, here are some more glimpses of star Peter Hooten and the rest of the ensemble.

First, a reminder of what is at stake in this movie:

Dr. Strange at his day job:﻿

Wong and Lidmer talking over something...profound, no doubt:

The saucy Morgan Le Fey:

Some trippy visuals, including Strange and Clea:

And how ABOUT that chemistry between Dr. Strange and the evil sorceress?

Monday, November 5, 2018

We complement each week's episode with a YouTube playlist of related clips, and we like to highlight particularly interesting videos with their own post. This week, straight from the episode 5-3 Dr. Strange list, is something we mention during the pod: the theme song to the short-lived ITV UK series The Zoo Gang:

I have never seen an episode of this, and frankly I don't know if I want to, because how can it ever be as fabulous as this opening sequence?

And speaking of fab, that evocative song is the handiwork of Paul and Linda McCartney!

The 1974 series, based on a Paul Gallico novel about a team of WWII resistance fighters who reunite in the 1970s to fight crime, lasted 6 episodes. It is available on DVD and Blu-Ray, but sadly, it's Region 2. According to Wikipedia, the series aired as a "multi-evening event" (back then, I'm sure it was just "filling airtime in the summer" on NBC over 3 nights in July and August 1975.

Sunday, November 4, 2018

We didn't talk too much about Hot Lips Houlihan in our season 5 opener about MASH, but the character is an essential part of the long-running series, and we salute Loretta Swit on her birthday! Here is a clip from Dolly's late-eighties show:

*As we mentioned on the show, Doctor Strange premiered on CBS September 6, 1978, at 8:00 P.M. against the season premiere of Eight Is Enough and hour one of a rebroadcast of an episode of Roots on ABC plus Sharks: The Death Machines and Dick Clark and a Cast of Thousands on NBC,

*The character premiered in Marvel's Strange Tales #110 in 1963 (cover dated July but likely several months earlier on the newsstands) and was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, though it appears Ditko did most of the character development and even plotting. This 1978 TV movie was the good doctor's first appearance on the big or small screen.

*Peter Hooten (born November 29, 1950) made his screen debut in an episode of Marcus Welby and appears in 2017's Souleater.

*The Zoo Gang is a 6-episode British TV series with John Mills, Brian Keith, Lili Palmer, and Barry Morse. if you don't see anything else in our YouTube playlist this week, please at least check out the great opening to the show!

*Morgan LeFey is an enchantress who figures prominently in Arthurian legend. She is thought to have first appeared in 1136 in Geoffrey of Monmouth's account of the life of Merlin.

*Among the events that happened in 1478, the year deemed not mystical/medieval enough by us:

--Thomas More was born
--The Spanish Inquisition began (and not even Morgan LeFey expected it)
--Lorenzo de Medici became ruler of Florence

*Click here for Aaron Couch's Hollywood Reporter piece we discuss on the podcast.